808. The History of the Siege of Lisbon

The History of the Siege of Lisbon
Jose Saramago
1989
Around 315 pages

Jose Saramago and I haven't had our true love's kiss yet, but so far we are getting along okay. Hopefully, we reach the next step in our relationship soon.

Raimundo Silva, assigned to correct a book entitled The History of Siege of Lisbon, decides to alter the meaning of a crucial sentence by inserting the word "not" in the text, so that the book now claims that the Crusaders did not come to the aid of the Portuguese in taking Lisbon from the Moors. The second plot is Saramago's recounting of the siege in the style of a historical romance.

We also get a love story between Raimundo and his editorial supervisor Maria Sara. So this is a very meta narrative coming from somebody who clearly adores history. Of course, my knowledge on the siege of Lisbon is non existent, so it was a little hard to get into that part. But it was an interesting commentary on our interpretations of history and how fluid it is.

So worth reading but kind of disappointing compared to our other recent novels.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Reviewing for The New York Times Edmund White wrote: "I found the verbal pierce and parry of the two proofreaders' courtship the most persuasive and vivid aspect of the novel. The rest of the writing can sometimes seem to be nothing but digressions."

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